145kms of MTB riding through breathtaking natural scenery interspersed with great coffee, food and l

We like to start and finish at Stromlo - partly because we all live within riding distance, but also because The Handlebar Stromlo is a great place to finish up a ride!

Like many riders, the crew at RideCanberra like to start early - unfortunately, that often means we're up and about before anything is open! Centenary Trail days are no exception and we like to time our departure so we're up on Cooleman Ridge when the sunrise crosses the city and hits the Brindabellas.

The scenery and riding start the day on a high note - the long, fast descent from Cooleman Ridge to Kambah Pool is a blast, followed by quality rolling singletrack along the Murrumbidgee River. This area is beautifully scenic and the fog rising off the river in the morning just adds to the magic. If it's your first time, it's worth taking the quick detour to the Red Rocks Gorge lookout, especially on a cold morning when the mist is rising off the rapids and the casuarinas are dripping with dew. 

Once you reach the Tuggeranong Town Centre it's a transport section up to Macarthur - you might be riding on two-way shared use paths through the suburbs, but the entire route follows nature strips and wetlands and the climb gradient is very gentle.  

From Macarthur you're back on singletrack - this becomes a bit of a grinding climb up Isaacs Ridge and over towards Mount Mugga Mugga, but the views are spectacular and the long descent next to Hindmarsh Drive is a high-speed highlight.

Whilst this leg isn't the longest it's often the most difficult, but is also the most rewarding. It starts with a run through the Majura Pines trail network - we recommend a lap of Planet Claire, it's a fast green flow trail with some challenging optional gaps for stronger riders.  

After that high-speed blast you head out into a series of nature reserves, starting with Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary.  The huge gates and fences keep out foxes and other introduced predators and the reserve is home to a whole range of endangered species like quolls and bettongs, which you'll see if you ride through at night. During the day you'll see kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, shinglebacks and all kinds of native birds. Besides a short punchy climb before the gate this is mostly flattish and fast fire road riding. 

Almost exactly 20kms from Hackett Shops you'll exit the Sanctuary and reach the Mulligans Flat Carpark Picnic Area in Forde - you'll want to fill up your water bottle here as there's no water until you reach Hall and the next section has a lot of climbing and proper singletrack.

From here you'll climb out of Forde and then enjoy a series of climbs and descents through beautiful native bushland before climbing up to the northern high point of One Tree Hill for amazing views back over Canberra. This section is where we often start to question why we're doing it!

However, once you reach One Tree Hill the hard work pays off - you get a 4km singletrack descent into Hall! It is a shared trail and if you're riding on the weekend you need to be aware of walkers, but on midweek (or bad weather) missions you'll likely have the trail to yourself and can let loose a bit more. Stopping for a meal in Hall village is a nice way to transition from the remote feeling of the last section of trail back to the upcoming section that mostly runs through nature reserves between suburbs.